Aberdeen medic to research ways of helping those with motor neurone disease

An Aberdeen medic has become one of the first people to land a scholarship set up in memory of a motor neurone disease campaigner.

Dianne Fraser, a clinical specialist in motor neurone disease (MND) at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, will receive a grant to research and develop practical improvements for the care of patients with the degenerative condition.

The scholarship was set up in memory of MND sufferer Gordon Aikman, who died last year.

Dianne and Alison Clarke, a nurse at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, are the first two recipients of the special scholarship established in Mr Aikman’s name.

The scholarships are being funded with £25,000 each from the Scottish Government and the charity MND Scotland.

After being diagnosed with MND at the age of 29, Mr Aikman raised £550,000 for research into the disease.

Ms Fraser said she has been using a technique called breath stacking to help patients. The method involves an adapted Ambu bag, which is a manual resuscitator used to provide ventilation to help patients who are not breathing or not breathing properly.

She said: “Motor Neurone Disease can affect the ability to breathe and cough.

“I have been using a treatment technique called breath stacking with an adapted Ambu bag, which costs only £32.